The modern stage in the development of culture is characterized by what?

Modern world culture has its own specific properties that make it unique and unique in the general cultural and historical context. It is very important to consider it holistically, in a single connection with various aspects of the life of modern society, be it ethics, morality, legal relations or the level of technological development and economic factor. Of course, such a comprehensive description of culture in one article can not be accommodated, so we will focus only on the most significant aspects of cultural life. So, what is special about the development of culture in the present stage?

The role of European culture in the world cultural space

It's no secret that the modern stage in the development of culture is characterized by an active process of globalization, firmly based on the European tradition. This is true for almost all regions of the planet, albeit to varying degrees. This process is called westernization and is determined by the prevailing Eurocentrism in assessing the prospects for further cultural development of the society. That is why the main attention should be paid to this tradition as the most important and fundamental for the life of billions of modern inhabitants of the planet.

Borders of European culture

European tradition, like any other, is distinguished by its style, specific features and set of values. Of course, the scope of its various thinkers define differently, as well as the sources of its origin and development factors. Here we will adhere to the most neutral and practically convenient concept, according to which a modern European culture with its mentality and characteristics was formed in the Renaissance and Modern Times. Other influences - antique, classical and a number of others - we will classify as the main ones to a different type that precedes the modern cultural formation of Europe.
So, what is the difference in the current stage of cultural development? In other words, what are its essential features can be distinguished as characteristic markers that separate it from other cultural types?

Rationalism

The rationalist element very vividly characterizes the development of culture at this stage. This manifests itself in a persistent worldview, the value kernel of which is the resources of the human intellect. It is very important to designate the vector of European rationalism, because it differs significantly from other, primarily, traditional oriental cultures. Its main distinguishing feature is the desire to constituate, codify the surrounding world, make it completely under the control and subordinate to the human element. The ways of development of modern culture in Russia , by the way, lead to exactly the same approach to the surrounding reality, when the value of the world is determined by the degree of its operability and the coefficient of utility. In other words, the human factor under such a system is central, while the rest of the world is translated into resource status.

The influence of rationalism on the features of the present stage (the development of culture)

This orientation of the western mentality has allowed to create a comfortable environment, to advance far ahead of technology and to achieve grandiose economic successes. But it also has the opposite, darker side, which consists in psychological destabilization of consciousness (for example, an extremely high level of depressive and suicidal moods in the most prosperous countries in Europe, America and Australia), hypertrophied intellectualism, to the detriment of the spiritual component Personality, the development of consumer relations, and in a broader sense - in aggressive cultural and economic expansionism and a barbarous attitude towards nature and the environment.

Subjectivism

The modern stage in the development of culture is also characterized by pronounced subjectivism. In this case, the latter in this case is understood as the absolute value of the subject in any external processes and phenomena.

In practice this means that the measure of everything is a concrete person, an individual, not a society, a class, a caste, and the like. With such an organization of cultural values , at least formal legal equality and the development of political life in a democratic manner are possible. Of course, in real life everything is somewhat more complicated, but it is this person-oriented message that determines the present stage. The development of culture in this direction not only liberates the person, gives it an inalienable value and rights, but also imposes a great responsibility, being simultaneously a challenge. The individual is, in effect, one on one with the world around him, in which all relationships take the form of a contract and a mutually beneficial contract. A person in such a world turns out to be lonely, not having deep roots in the family-clan, spiritual, national or some other space.

Russian specificity

As for the development of modern culture in Russia, it still contrasts quite strongly with the European model, although it is moving confidently in its direction. For example, in the cultural space of the Russian Federation, the ideas of tolerance and equality of pluralistic society, free from the oppression of the individual by any social force, have not yet been fully accepted. On the other hand, many aspects of cultural life in the post-Soviet space are less susceptible to commercialization and transition to the format of market relations. It is easier to express this by the notion of spiritual depth, which is alien to the economic dimension.

Scientism

The natural development of subjectivism, which was stimulated by R. Descartes in his famous thesis "I think, therefore I exist," was the essential vacuum of European culture. Unlike the theocratic Middle Ages or the enslaved antiquity, the modern stage in the development of culture is characterized, as already said, by radical anthropocentrism, in which the subject has no other support and criterion of knowledge than himself. Thus, from under the feet of a man, all soil is knocked out. Compensatory function in this process on itself takes an unquenchable will to power and to control, based on the foundation of scientific methodology. Together, all these factors: subjectivism, rationalism and the next scientism - are the answer to the question "what are the features of the current stage of cultural development?"

Mathesis

Under the material is understood such a model of thinking and cognition, which is oriented mainly to the mathematical apparatus. It is this quality that is so characteristic of the new European mentality. It is important to single out it specifically, because although it describes adequately the essence of European scientism, it is not limited to it. As brightly as in scientific discourse, the matter manifests itself in all aspects of the life of the European man, even in those where seemingly mathematical calculation is inappropriate. A vivid example of this is the beauty industry, in which the verified and standardized concept of beauty and beauty has completely lost the aura of irrationality and spiritual dimension and has become the subject of production and the object of trade and market relations. Beauty has ceased to be an essential, deep-seated quality of personality and has evolved into something that can be effectively constructed with mathematically verified diets, trainings, chemicals and surgical operations. Thus, it has become extremely rationalized, subject to specified parameters and standards.

Expansionism

The modern stage in the development of culture is also characterized by some expansionism. It is this factor that has allowed it to become at present the leading paradigm, claiming to be the foundation for the synthesis of a global culture. It manifests itself, first of all, in the political aspect of social life, but not only. A vivid example is the persistent proselytizing of Western Christian churches, the spread of Western economic models and the values of a democratic society. At the same time, the expansion of European culture extends not only to other, non-European communities, but also to the world as such. This aspect of the Western mentality is illustrated in a colorful way by the attitude towards nature, characterized by consumerism and an inordinate desire to subordinate it to its interests, which often leads to catastrophic consequences - the destruction of animals and plant species, depletion of minerals, pollution of the environment, etc. Unfortunately, this attitude, gradually Overcome in Europe and the countries-carriers of its cultural paradigm with the help of the development of ecological consciousness, is fully inherent in the Russian cultural a nd. The abundance of debris in the forest parks nearby to any Russian city speaks for itself, as well as the level of poaching, the scale of illegal deforestation and the legislative base, in this respect characterized by almost total indifference.